Rugrats in Paris: The Movie

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Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
Rugrats in Paris The Movie poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
  • Paul Demeyer
  • Stig Bergqvist
Written by
Based on Rugrats
by Arlene Klasky
Gábor Csupó
Paul Germain
Produced by
  • Arlene Klasky
  • Gábor Csupó
Starring
Edited byJohn Bryant
Music by Mark Mothersbaugh [1]
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Paramount Pictures [1]
  • Nickelodeon Movies [1]
Release date
  • November 17, 2000 (2000-11-17)
Running time
78 minutes [3]
Countries
  • United States [1]
  • Germany [1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million [3]
Box office$103.3 million [3]

Rugrats in Paris: The Movie is a 2000 animated comedy film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats . It is the second installment in the Rugrats film series and the sequel to The Rugrats Movie (1998). [4] This film marks the first appearance of Kimi Watanabe and her mother, Kira. The film also marks the appearance of the first significant villains in the Rugrats franchise, the child-hating Coco LaBouche and her accomplice, Jean-Claude. The events of the film take place after the series' seventh season premiere, and it focuses on Chuckie Finster as he and the rest of the Rugrats embark on an adventure in Paris, France while he is searching for a new mother.

Contents

The film was released in the United States on November 17, 2000. [3] Rugrats in Paris received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed over $103 million worldwide against a production budget of $30 million. This was the final Rugrats film to feature Christine Cavanaugh as the voice of Chuckie, who retired from being a full-time voice actor in 2001 and died in 2014. A sequel, and a crossover with characters from The Wild Thornberrys franchise titled Rugrats Go Wild , was released on June 13, 2003.

Plot

At the wedding reception of Lou Pickles and his new wife Lulu, a mother-child dance saddens Chuckie Finster with memories of his mother, who died shortly after his birth. Realizing that he and his son miss that presence in their lives, Chas Finster starts thinking of re-marrying. Tommy Pickles' father Stu is then summoned to EuroReptarland, a Japanese amusement park in Paris, to fix a malfunctioning Reptar robot he designed for the park's stage show.

The entire Pickles, Finster, and DeVille families travel to EuroReptarland, run by the ill-tempered, cold-hearted and child-hating Coco LaBouche, who hopes to succeed her supervisor, Mr. Yamaguchi, as president of the Reptar corporation. When Yamaguchi tells her his successor must love children, she lies and tells him she is engaged to a man with a child. Angelica Pickles overhears their conversation, and when discovered eavesdropping, saves herself by telling Coco about Chas.

Coco begins pursuing Chas with the help of her put-upon but kindhearted assistant, Kira Watanabe, who tells the babies how Reptar was a feared monster before his gentler side was revealed by a princess. Hearing this, Chuckie decides he wants the park's animatronic princess to be his mother and goes in search of her along with the babies and Kira's daughter Kimi. Meanwhile, the Pickles' dog Spike gets lost in the streets of Paris in pursuit of a stray poodle named Fifi.

While Coco wins over Chas, Chuckie remains deeply distrustful of her. At the Reptar show's premiere, Angelica informs Coco of Chuckie's wish to have the princess for his mother, prompting Coco to infiltrate the show disguised as the princess. She lures Chuckie on stage, where he is horrified to see her true identity; however, seeing his son go to Coco convinces Chas that he should marry her straight away. On the day of the wedding, Coco orders her accomplice, Jean-Claude, to keep the babies and Angelica from intervening. Kira learns of Coco's plot and threatens to tell Chas, but is thrown out enroute to the ceremony and hurries there by bicycle. Meanwhile, Jean-Claude imprisons the children in the warehouse where the show's robots are kept. When Chuckie despairs of having a new mother who does not like him, a guilt-ridden Angelica reveals Coco's plan and her part in it and apologizes to Chuckie.

Knowing the truth, Chuckie rallies the others to stop the wedding and they hurry to Notre Dame in the Reptar robot, picking up Kimi along the way. Robosnail (controlled by Jean Claude) pursues Reptar (controlled by the babies) through the streets of Paris. After dodging the Arc de Triomphe and rocketing up the Eiffel Tower, Reptar faces Robosnail, and begins to fight him. He defeats Robosnail, and knocks him into the Seine River.

Chuckie arrives at the church and stops the wedding by saying out his first word, "No!". Jean-Claude follows, revealing Coco's true nature and blurted out that Coco's kidnapping plot has failed and Chas calls off the wedding in disgust. Mr. Yamaguchi, who is in attendance, fires Coco after Angelica informs him about Coco’s plan. Angelica then rips Coco's dress when she knocks down the babies. Publicly humiliated, Coco flees the chapel, and Spike chases Jean-Claude away. As Chas apologizes to Chuckie for everything Coco put them both through, Kira arrives and apologizes to him for not speaking up sooner. Realizing they have much in common, Chas and Kira develop feelings for each other. Returning home, they marry and the Finsters and Watanabes, who also adopt Fifi, become a new family.

Voice cast

Main

Supporting

Guest

Soundtrack

Rugrats in Paris: The Movie: Music from the Paramount Motion Picture
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
ReleasedNovember 7, 2000 (2000-11-07)
Recorded1999–2000
Genre
Length50:55
Label
Rugrats soundtrack chronology
The Rugrats Movie: Music from the Paramount Motion Picture
(1998)
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie: Music from the Paramount Motion Picture
(2000)
Rugrats Go Wild: Music from the Paramount Motion Picture
(2003)
Singles from Rugrats in Paris: The Movie: Music From the Paramount Motion Picture
  1. "Who Let the Dogs Out?"
    Released: July 25, 2000
  2. "My Getaway"
    Released: November 5, 2000
  3. "L'Histoire d'une fée, c'est..."
    Released: February 27, 2001
Soundtrack
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [5]

A soundtrack album for the film, titled Rugrats in Paris: The Movie: Music from the Paramount Motion Picture, was released on November 7, 2000 on Maverick Records and features new music from Jessica Simpson, Baha Men, Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins of TLC, Aaron Carter and Mandy Moore. [6] Like the last soundtrack, it also contains an enhanced part: the theme song to the film "Jazzy Rugrat Love" by Teena Marie.

No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."My Getaway" T-Boz (of TLC)3:50
2."You Don't Stand a Chance" Amanda 3:44
3."Life is a Party" Aaron Carter 3:26
4."Who Let the Dogs Out?" Baha Men 3:18
5."Final Heartbreak" Jessica Simpson 3:42
6."When You Love" Sinéad O'Connor 5:18
7."I'm Telling You This" No Authority 4:08
8."These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" Geri Halliwell (from Spice Girls)3:03
9."Chuckie Chan (Martial Arts Expert of Reptarland)" Isaac Hayes & Alex Brown4:19
10."L'Histoire d'une fée, c'est..." Mylène Farmer 5:12
11."I Want a Mom That Will Last Forever" Cyndi Lauper 3:47
12."Excuse My French" 2Be3 3:03
13."Bad Girls" Cheryl Chase with Tim Curry, Kevin Michael Richardson and Billy West 4:05
14."I Wanna Be with You ("Rugrats in Paris" movie mix version, bonus track)" Mandy Moore 4:25
Bonus enhanced track on enhanced CD
No.TitleArtist(s)Length
14."Jazzy Rugrat Love" (Theme from Rugrats in Paris) Teena Marie 5:07
Total length:50:55

Release

The film was released on November 17, 2000 by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies. In select theaters, the film was accompanied by the short film Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big .

Home media

Rugrats in Paris: The Movie was released on VHS and DVD on March 27, 2001 by Paramount Home Entertainment.

In 2009, Paramount released the film via iTunes and the PlayStation Store. [7] [8] [9]

On March 15, 2011 (along with The Rugrats Movie and Rugrats Go Wild ), the film was re-released in a three-disc movie trilogy collection DVD set in honor of the original show's 20th anniversary. [10]

On August 29, 2017, Rugrats in Paris was re-released on DVD.

On March 8, 2022 (along with The Rugrats Movie and Rugrats Go Wild), the film was released on Blu-ray as part of the trilogy movie collection. [11] [12]

Reception

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an approval rating of 76% based on 75 reviews and an average rating of 6.3/10. The site's critical consensus read: "When the Rugrats go to Paris, the result is Nickelodeon-style fun. The plot is effectively character-driven, and features catchy songs and great celebrity voice-acting." [13] Metacritic gave a film a weighted average score of 62 out of 100 based, on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [14] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. [15]

Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, stating, "The point is, adults can attend this movie with a fair degree of pleasure. That's not always the case with movies for kids, as no parent needs to be reminded. There may even be some moms who insist that the kids need to see this movie. You know who you are." [16] Common Sense Media gave the film a three out of five stars, stating, "Eighty minutes of visual surprises, clever comedy." [17] Empire gave the film a three out of five stars, stating, "Just as good as the last outing, this is great kiddie fare with some filmic references for the adults." [18]

Jesse Florea of the fundamentalist activist organization Focus on the Family's entertainment review outlet Plugged In wrote, "If parents are wanting more of what they see on the Rugrats TV show (plenty of potty humor, disrespectful language and zero discipline), then this movie lives up to expectations. Never is a child scolded for making a mess or reprimanded for being rude (of course, some of this is due to the fact that many of the characters aren’t old enough to talk and only communicate with each other). The movie is cleverly written—it actually has the ability to hold adults’ attention for longer than three minutes—but it's not funny that chaos is the norm and children get to do whatever they want whenever they want. Neither is it appropriate for a children's film to tip its hat to such R-rated flicks as The Godfather and A Few Good Men ." [19]

Box office

The film grossed $76.5 million in North America and $26.8 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $103.3 million, against a $30 million budget.

In the United States, it opened at #2 behind How the Grinch Stole Christmas , grossing $22.7 million in its opening weekend for an average of $7,743 from 2,934 venues. [20] [21] In the United Kingdom, it opened at #1 spot before it was dropped at #3 by its second weekend, behind Bridget Jones's Diary and Spy Kids . [22]

Crossover Sequel

A sequel, titled Rugrats Go Wild , that is a crossover with the characters from The Wild Thornberrys (another franchise from Klasky Csupo), was released on June 13, 2003.

Related Research Articles

<i>Rugrats</i> 1991–2004 American animated television series

Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil, and their day-to-day lives, usually involving life experiences that become much greater adventures in the imaginations of the main characters.

<i>All Grown Up!</i> 2003–2008 American animated television series

All Grown Up! is an American animated television series developed by Kate Boutilier, Eryk Casemiro, and Monica Piper for Nickelodeon. It serves as a sequel to Rugrats, and explores the daily lives of protagonist Tommy Pickles, his little brother Dil and his childhood friends, now tweens/adolescents. The concept for the series was based on the Rugrats episode "All Growed Up", which served as the original series' 10th anniversary special and proved successful with audiences.

<i>Rugrats Go Wild</i> 2003 American film directed by Norton Virgien and John Eng

Rugrats Go Wild is a 2003 American animated crossover adventure film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. It is the final installment of both the Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys film series and the sequel to both the films Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000) and The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002). The film was the first to feature Nancy Cartwright as the voice of Chuckie Finster following original voice actress Christine Cavanaugh's retirement in 2001. The film follows the Rugrats and their famillies as they prepare for their planned vacation, but eventually get stranded on an uncharted island in the Pacific, where they meet the Wild Thornberrys for the first time.

<i>The Rugrats Movie</i> 1998 film by Igor Kovalyov and Norton Virgien

The Rugrats Movie is a 1998 American animated musical comedy-drama film based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats. It was directed by Igor Kovalyov and Norton Virgien and was written by David N. Weiss & J. David Stem. The film features the voices of E. G. Daily, Tara Strong, Christine Cavanaugh, Kath Soucie, Cheryl Chase, Cree Summer, Jack Riley, Melanie Chartoff, Michael Bell and Joe Alaskey, along with guest stars David Spade, Whoopi Goldberg, Margaret Cho, Busta Rhymes, and Tim Curry. The film takes place between the events of the series' fifth and sixth seasons, and it follows Tommy Pickles as he and the rest of the Rugrats along with his new baby brother, Dil, eventually get lost into the deep wilderness after taking a high-speed ride on the Reptar Wagon, and embark on an adventure to find their way home in the forest while being pursued by circus monkeys and a predatory wolf along the way. The Rugrats Movie is the first feature film based on a Nicktoon and the first installment in the Rugrats film series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reptar</span> Fictional character

Reptar is a fictional character from the American animated television series Rugrats. It is a green mutated Tyrannosaurus with rounded, blue spike-like appendages on its back, which intentionally causes it to resemble and spoof Godzilla. Outside of Rugrats-related films, Reptar appears as a playable character in the Nickelodeon Kart Racers and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl video game series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Pickles</span> Fictional character in the Rugrats franchise

Thomas Malcolm "Tommy" Pickles is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the animated children's television series Rugrats, the reboot, and its spinoff series All Grown Up!. He is also the protagonist of The Rugrats Movie (1998) and Rugrats Go Wild (2003), and a major character in Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000), as well as other various Rugrats-related media.

<i>Rugrats in Paris: The Movie</i> (video game) 2000 video game

Rugrats in Paris: The Movie is a video game based on the 2000 animated movie of the same name. The game follows the adventures of the Rugrats in a European theme park. A console version of the game was released in 2000, for the PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and a handheld version for Game Boy Color. A version for Microsoft Windows was later released in 2001. The console version's gameplay is similar to Rugrats: Studio Tour, but Paris’ attractions sometimes have minigames too. The handheld gameplay is a side-scrolling platformer. The Windows version's gameplay is an adventure game in which the player must find Chuckie's Wawa Bear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All Growed Up</span> 13th and 14th episodes of the 7th season of Rugrats

"All Growed Up" is a special episode of Rugrats and the pilot episode to the spin-off series All Grown Up! that aired on July 21, 2001, on Nickelodeon, to celebrate the series' tenth anniversary. The special serves as the 13th and 14th episodes of the seventh season of Rugrats, and the 143rd and 144th episodes of the series overall. The episode's premise was to focus on what the babies' lives would be like if they were ten years older. The episode proved to be popular enough for a series based on it to be made.

<i>Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt</i> 1999 video game

Rugrats: Scavenger Hunt is a 1999 party video game developed by Realtime Associates and published by THQ for the Nintendo 64. The game is based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats. It features the original voices from the Rugrats cast reprising their roles as Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, and Phil and Lil DeVille as well as supporting characters Grandpa Lou, Didi and Stu Pickles, Susie Carmichael, Reptar, and series antagonist Angelica Pickles.

Since the 1990s, Nickelodeon, a worldwide children's television network and franchise, owned by Paramount Global, has had an involvement in the creation and theming of amusement parks rides.

<i>Rugrats: Studio Tour</i> 1999 video game

Rugrats: Studio Tour is a 1999 action-adventure game developed by n-Space and published by THQ. It was released for PlayStation on November 9, 1999, in North America and on December 15, 1999, in Europe. It is based on the Nickelodeon animated television series Rugrats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Rugrats Passover</span> 23rd episode of the 3rd season of Rugrats

"A Rugrats Passover" is the 23rd episode of the third season of the American animated television series Rugrats. It first aired on Nickelodeon in the United States on April 13, 1995. The episode follows series regulars Grandpa Boris and the babies as they become trapped in the attic on Passover; to pass the time, Boris tells the Jewish story of the Exodus. During the episode, the babies themselves reenact the story, with Tommy portraying Moses, while his cousin Angelica represents the Pharaoh of Egypt.

"Runaway Reptar" is a TV movie initially released as the 24th and 25th episodes of the sixth season of the animated television series Rugrats, and the 118th and 119th episodes of the series overall. It originally aired on the television network Nickelodeon on November 27, 1999. The plot follows the babies watching a Reptar movie and imagining themselves as part of the story. It was directed by John Holmquist and Jim Duffy, and was the first two-part episode in the series.

<i>Rugrats: I Gotta Go Party</i> 2002 video game

Rugrats: I Gotta Go Party is a 2002 Game Boy Advance game based on the Rugrats series developed by Eurocom Entertainment Software and published by THQ. It was also released on a triple pack cartridge bundled with Tak and the Power of Juju and SpongeBob SquarePants: SuperSponge in 2005.

<i>Rugrats</i> (film series) Film series starting in 1998 and concluding in 2003

The Rugrats film series is a series of animated comedy-adventure films based on the popular Nickelodeon animated series, Rugrats, created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain. The three films were released in 1998, 2000, and 2003. The first and third films received mixed reviews, while the second received generally positive reviews. The series also experienced declining commercial success with each film.

Rugrats is a Nickelodeon media franchise created by Klasky Csupo consisting of television shows, films, video games, and other entries. It commenced in 1991 with the premiere of the television series of the same name. The franchise revolves around the adventures of a group of toddler friends who learn about the world and their relationship to it.

"Mother's Day", also known as the "Rugrats Mother's Day Special" or "Rugrats Mother's Day", is the second episode of the fourth season of the American animated television series Rugrats and the show's 67th episode overall. It revolves around the holiday from the perspective of a group of babies—Tommy Pickles, Chuckie Finster, and Phil and Lil Deville. Tommy, Phil, and Lil attempt to find the perfect mother for Chuckie while sharing their favorite memories about their moms. At the end of the episode, Chuckie's mother is revealed to have died of a terminal illness. It concludes with Chuckie and Chas looking through a box of her belongings, including a poem she had written for her son. Meanwhile, Didi Pickles tries to plan the perfect Mother's Day with her mom Minka, while Betty DeVille helps Stu Pickles with his invention to help mothers.

<i>Rugrats Adventure Game</i> 1998 educational adventure video game

Rugrats Adventure Game is an educational adventure point and click video game based on the Rugrats television series released for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh on September 30, 1998. It was developed and published by Broderbund. The game follows Tommy Pickles and friends Chuckie, Phil, and Lil as they try to rescue Tommy's beloved toy Reptar from being thrown out as garbage. The game incorporates point and click gameplay, with characters and objects appearing in different locations even after the player has visited them once. Angelica, the series' main antagonist, appears in the game to help further the story and ultimately become the game's main villain.

<i>Rugrats</i> (2021 TV series) American animated television series (2021–)

Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain. It has been described as a reboot of the original TV series of the same name which ran from 1991 to 2004. The series premiered on May 27, 2021, on Paramount+; it is the second Nickelodeon-based series created for the streaming service. As with previous incarnations of the franchise, the series was produced by Klasky Csupo and Nickelodeon Animation Studio.

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